Turkish Camping and Caravanning Club
Little Ferries
The little river ferry we’ve just driven onto is full as far as I can tell, loaded with two vans, a motorbike and a handful of pedestrians. So it’s fair to say that we are confused at first because instead of casting off, the crew are attempting to get another van onto the chock full deck. With a bit of shuffling backwards, forwards and sideways the crew perform a miracle and do in fact get the third van on. It’s probably lucky then that we’ve run out of water and are perilously low on fuel and not as overloaded as normal and ferry is only vaguely stern down with a list to port as we pootle gently along the languid river.
Dirty Laundry
Disembarking at Dalyan we drop off our laundry at a launderette. There are few self service laundries here much to Rosana’s annoyance. She’s not happy with the quality of the cleaning and to make matters worse, when we passed through the town of Milas recently we had our laundry done there, only to find the bedding missing once we were camped many kilometres away at the end of a muddy woodland track.
It’s Friday and the end of the working week so we head to Iztuzu beach for the weekend while we wait on the washing. Also known as Turtle Beach, this long strip of fine sand attracts nesting turtles as well as sun seeking tourists.
Set back from the beach is a turtle rescue centre and we spend some time learning about the work they do to save injured turtles.
It’s not baby turtle season but we can’t camp on the beach directly or even in the car park, so we find a good spot just up the road nestled in the trees while we wait for our laundry.
The Turkish and the Outdoor Life
Finding camp spots follows much the same pattern in Türkiye as it did in Greece. The Park4Night app guides us down dirt tracks that lead to beaches, or up to remote hilly and secluded locations. Quaysides, harbours and peninsulas, woodlands and viewpoints are all potential park ups.
In further similarities to Greece we find much of the country to be blighted by litter, in some places on an industrial scale.
It’s heartbreaking that such a beautiful country is treated in such a way. Like many other visitors, we clear as much as we can, but it often feels like we are accomplishing nothing.
Camping is a popular past time and we meet many Turkish camper vans. Roof top tents on cars are popular but most of all we see little caravans. Rarely do we see the caravans being towed on the road, rather we find them by the score parked up in scenic places. Seemingly abandoned most of the time, these little homes from home appear to be parked up for long periods of time and visited occasionally, presumably more so during the summer.
Picnicking is also favourite pastime and we often wake up to a family having picnic breakfast nearby. In the evening groups gather, talk, play music, have a few beers. We don’t see any trouble and outside of the big cities people go home fairly early. It’s a lovely thing to see, but sadly so many people choose to leave their waste behind. This is more infuriating because bins are everywhere. Stray dogs, of which there are many, search through the refuse looking for food. Unlike their Greek counterparts, Turkish strays seem to be well looked after, with veterinary care provided and many towns even providing feeding stations.
On the drive back into Dalyan we are flagged down by an old boy at a bus stop. He needs to get to the hospital for an appointment so could we give him a lift? We explain we have to pick up water on the way, so if he is happy with the delay, and the health and safety disaster in the back of the van, then yes. Luckily there is no dirty washing to fall from the roof space, which is its usual trick. Razman speaks good English and had lived in the UK for a while before returning to a more sedate life in Türkiye. We learn a little about his life in the area but as we are filling our water tanks a proper bus passes by and he wishes us a safe journey before abandoning us for considerably more comfort and safety than the back of our van offers.
Brits!
As we work our way around the coast we cross paths with Matt and Lucy from time to time and enjoy and evening or two together. Often there are other people camped near by and not just the locals, Türkiye is a popular destination for Europeans with its warmer winter climate and easygoing approach to camping.
The more adventurous, on long overland trips pass through too, it is on the silk road after all.
What we don’t generally see are many British van travellers. This surprises us, it seems an ideal escape from the shackles of Schengen that came with our exit from the EU. None the less, there are many travellers here and we’re all following a similar route at similar speeds and you begin to recognise vans and people.
In a rare meeting of Brits, we spend some time camped with our friends and some friends of theirs.
Huddled around a campfire, we watch the torch for a diver out for a nocturnal dive. We watch the torch approach through the inky depths before the diver surfaces and approaches Bond like from the sea. He’s been spear fishing and offers us some of his catch. It’s late and we’ve eaten. No one wants to store fish in their van, but he’s insistent and we accept. The fish is cooked on the fire and the stray dogs that have been guarding us from whatever they guard us from get well rewarded.
In and Around Fetiye
Outside of Fetiye we find a set of ruins from a very different era of Turkish history to what we’ve previously wandered. The abandoned village of Kayaköy, first depopulated by genocide under the Ottomans during WWI, and then following the population exchange following the end of the Greek-Turkish war in 1922. With many more people leaving than arriving, the whole village became abandoned and fell into disrepair. It’s now a tourist destination but has a slightly eerie feel.
Fetiye itself is busy, upmarket, touristy and hosts a fabulous market. We camp for the night on the outskirts, passing through a busy marina full of boats that have been taken out of the water for the winter for renovation. It’s a hive of activity and we wonder if we’ve somehow left the public highway and driven into the marina itself, but no, it’s just that there are more boats than space and the marina is now encroaching on the road.
When we reach Oulinez, at the start of the Lycian Way, we also reach the hundredth day of our trip and decide it’s time to celebrate.
Nice trip! Any chance of adding some kind of map on the blog? So we can kind of point out where you guys are heading to?
Will look at adding a map, trying to get the blog up to date as it is now massively behind as been a bit busy!